This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present invention that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
A femtocell is a cellular base station that is functionally similar to a macrocell cellular base station, noted a macrocell hereinafter. A femtocell is also called an access point base station. It is adapted to connect cellular handsets to a cellular network. The area covered by a base station is called a cell. When a cellular handset is located in a cell, it can connect to a base station. A femtocell is adapted to cover a much lower cell range than a macrocell. A typical use of a femtocell is inside a building to cover areas that are not reached by a macrocell. A femtocell may also be used in a home network to provide access to the core network through the broadband network. Coupled to a home gateway, the femtocell permits cellular devices connection to the core network through the gateway instead of connecting through the macrocell. The broadband link capacity is dependent on the physical characteristics of the link and it varies per home network installation. The available link capacity may not be sufficient at the broadband to enable all traffic from the femtocell.
The present invention attempts to remedy at least some of the concerns connected with the available link capacity, by providing an admission control mechanism.